The Gay Rights Movement has its roots in the preceding Sexual Liberation and Revolution in the 1960s. Counterculture and “alternative lifestyles” became more visibly present after the (relatively) socially homogenous and somewhat repressive 1950s. Sexual liberation grew alongside anti-war and civil rights movements of the time, and sexual promiscuity was expressed as a choice of personal freedom and was in and of itself a political statement. Drug use and non-conforming gender expression also became more visible to Americans at this time. 1969 was the culminating of the queer sexual liberation movement with the Stonewall Riots in New York – a club that included many transgender patrons, multiethnic teens and “troublesome” youths, and various LGBTQ individuals. Police raids erupted in continuous rioting from patrons, and the one-year anniversary of these Riots started the first pride parades in 1970. Three years later, homosexuality was no longer considered a “mental illness” by mainstream psychologists and individuals could be somewhat more open about their sexuality and gender expression. However, many remained closeted as the “gay stigma” was still prevalent in America. These men were seen as blasphemous by the religious majority and were associated with casual sex and drug use – something that even Larry Kramer himself found frustrating when discussing his experiences as a gay man. Gay men, specifically, were often portrayed in extremes of drag, BDSM, and extreme sexual practices and “fantasies”. Bath houses fed into this stereotype and many governments conducted bath house raids to curb what they saw as prostitution.
Though AIDs cases pre-date The Normal Heart, Kramer begins with the first North American cases in 1981 and the disease’s initial name as GRID (gay-related immune deficiency). Some public articles recognized “GRID” but relied mostly on fear-mongering or vague, oversimplified articles. Major political action was not recognized until Reagan’s 1987 speech mentioning AIDs and promising to provide more funding (which never followed through). Contemporary AIDs movements still rely on the dissemination of information as their key activist method, and now must reach over 30 million infected individuals (most in African countries with few large-scale medical relief programs).
Though AIDs cases pre-date The Normal Heart, Kramer begins with the first North American cases in 1981 and the disease’s initial name as GRID (gay-related immune deficiency). Some public articles recognized “GRID” but relied mostly on fear-mongering or vague, oversimplified articles. Major political action was not recognized until Reagan’s 1987 speech mentioning AIDs and promising to provide more funding (which never followed through). Contemporary AIDs movements still rely on the dissemination of information as their key activist method, and now must reach over 30 million infected individuals (most in African countries with few large-scale medical relief programs).